The Sky Is Rising

Despite two local Cincinnati clubs closing in 2011, Live Nation reporting a second consecutive annual loss, and independent record stores such as Ear-x-tacy shutting down, Techdirt reports that there is actually growth in the music industry.

A new report named "The Sky is Rising" states that while traditional revenues such as album and ticket sales are down, music production and consumption are up.

“There are some predictions that digital music sales will eventually exceed CD sales and continue to grow, so the current slump for recorded music revenues may simply be a temporary part of the natural business cycle,” the report notes, adding that new models for music licensing and sponsorships are also helping to turn things around.

“The music industry is actually positioned to have a wide variety of income streams as more and more people gain increasingly convenient ways to listen to music.”

Many social media blogs live by the saying "adapt or die". Although the RIAA has many rebuttals to this report, this is a trend worth taking note of. The music industry, like the Mayans, have been predicting their own demise for years now. To fight the trends and not adapt would be a huge mistake.